I’ve been on the strict version of the Candida diet for 8 months, and have improved a great deal with the reason i went on the diet, yeast infections. I have significantly less problems than i had before, and although i do have issues sometimes down there; however, whenever i get it checked out at the gynecologist, they find no yeast under the microscope or on the culture. So, i’m moving to phase 2, slowly. I am going to start with tomatoes and use pure tomatoes to make a sauce for either eggplant or organic chicken. My question is 2 parts…1. How long should i test tomatoes before moving on to a new test (i’m thinking almonds next), and 2. How often should i try tomatoes before moving on to the next test…every day, a couple days a week etc?

My other question is about broccoli rabe. I’m going to dinner with friends tonight and they don’t have much i can eat aside from brussel sprouts, which ill get, but they also have broccoli rabe. Is there a reason its not on the strict diet?

Broccoli rabe has fewer calories and less sugar than regular broccoli, according to a couple of websites, so it seems like it should be fine. I assume it’s not listed because it’s obscure.

If you’re going to test tomatoes, it might make sense to eat a small tomato a few of days in a row to test for a reaction before making sauce, which will be a much more concentrated form. As I’ve been adding in foods during the strict diet (like buckwheat, teff, etc), I usually give myself a week between introductions. I’m not sure how that compares with most people.

Home-cooked dried beans are shown as the first new food to add after the first stage on the strict diet. About two weeks later tomatoes or half a Granny Smith apple would be acceptable as a second food providing you experienced zero reactions from the beans. This is the route I chose and had no problems. However, my symptoms were completely gone before I added a new food that was not on the original diet, so since you’re still experiencing some symptoms, I’d eat only a few spoons of whatever you choose for a few days and watch for reactions very closely. If you experience Candida reactions that are not allergy related, this means that you still have the infestation in your body and should stop testing new foods until you’ve cleared more of the Candida out.

Thanks all. Able, as for what diet I was on, I was on your strict diet for 8 months. Followed very carefully what you outlined on your private site. A couple of accidents on the very rare occasion, but for the most part, I followed it perfectly.

Should I do as raster suggested and maybe start with almonds? Before I started the strict diet, I did a candida diet not as strict and ate almonds. I didn’t notice a problem, but I also had a lot more symptoms back then. I really, really, really hate beans…I don’t know that I can eat those. Given that, what do you think– almonds or tomatoes? I bought almonds and already have soaked them and could roast them so maybe a good start?

beans/lentils can be done well or done blechhhh and boring. You could try pureeing them into a spread, making them with spices (like curry lentils, yum!), that sort of thing. It doesn’t just have to be a starchy blob of bland beans.

yisucks;37780 wrote: Thanks all. Able, as for what diet I was on, I was on your strict diet for 8 months. Followed very carefully what you outlined on your private site. A couple of accidents on the very rare occasion, but for the most part, I followed it perfectly. Should I do as raster suggested and maybe start with almonds? Before I started the strict diet, I did a candida diet not as strict and ate almonds. I didn’t notice a problem, but I also had a lot more symptoms back then. I really, really, really hate beans…I don’t know that I can eat those. Given that, what do you think– almonds or tomatoes? I bought almonds and already have soaked them and could roast them so maybe a good start?

No beans at all? I can’t imagine not eating beans when trying slowly come off the diet, in fact, if not for beans I would have remained on the strict diet much longer than I did.

I suppose if you have to add a food at eight months while you’re still experiencing some type of problems with the Candida (according to your words you have “significantly less problems” and not zero problems), probably tomatoes or a few bites of a Granny Smith apple would be the best choices, but still not good choices. The problem with the tomatoes in your case is, you’re not just eating a few bites of a tomato, you’re making a sauce, so it’s probably going to be more difficult to have just a ‘few bites’ when you have a bowl of tomato sauce sitting in front of you; it certainly would be for me.

I wouldn’t eat the almonds yet; just like with Raster’s own problem when he was still on the protocol; when he ate sunflower seeds for a while, he didn’t know they were creating a problem until three months or so down the road. The following is one of his statements about that situation, this one is from June 20 of last year, “Sunflower seeds significantly set back my progress earlier in my treatment and I do not recommend eating them throughout the diet. They contain molds like other seeds and nuts which feeds candida and causes mucous production (which protects candida).”

The reason I don’t think you should eat nuts is because you still have an above average number of yeast in your body, otherwise you wouldn’t be experiencing even mild symptoms.

Thanks Able. I am definitely not going to do almonds yet, and I’m also not going to make a sauce like I planned. I think I may try a few bites of tomato, and gradually work my way up to a sauce– maybe in 2 weeks. But I agree that it’s not smart to jump right into something so concentrated.

The reason why I figure I might as well try things now is that, even when I have these less frequent symptoms, I have no proof they are candida related. When I go to the gyno with them, they say everything down there is perfect– no yeast– not under the microscope or on a culture, so it could be a different issue entirely. I also tend to think that my normal discharge is abnormal because I look at it constantly and freak myself that I have a problem when it is probably just normal fluctuations. Oh the joy of being a girl!

If you’ve had vaginal yeast infections for a long time, I think it’d be hard to gauge what normal discharge is like. As you say, there are fluctuations, like with ovulation. Do you have any other symptoms in that area? Itching or burning?

I never having burning, but will have itching sometimes…like with my period. However, I went to the gyno and they saw no yeast at all, so I don’t know what it is. I would say I’m itch free like 90-95% of the time, but depending on where I am in my menstrual cycle, sometimes I do get some itching.

I often will have some heavy white discharge with no accompanying yeast symptoms, and whenever I go to the gyno they say everything is fine, so I think it’s normal. I was never in the habit of “checking” myself prior to my yeast infection problem, so now I worry that every tiny little thing is a problem

When you ovulate, you’ll likely have heavier white or clear-ish discharge for a few days prior and a few days after, so it can last for a week sometimes. Are they running any tests when you actually have itching? When I used to get yeast infections, they would come on a day or two before I started menstruating, and they’d subside the day I started. I assume it had something to do with hormones, since estrogen and progesterone both drop in order to allow the uterine lining to slough. Maybe yeast is only an issue then, or maybe you just have a sensitivity to one of your hygiene products. I used to be itchier and more uncomfortable when I used tampons and disposable pads. Aside from their chemicals, pads are also not very breathable, which can be problematic. I have a Diva Cup now, which is made of silicone, and I wear comfortable (breathable! non-diapery!) cloth pads to run interference if I get any leaks (which I generally do not).

Yeah, I definitely seem to have issues that are related to menstruation. Sometimes a few days before my period is when I’ll get itchy (typically only for a day or so), but never right before my period. I’m actually the most itchy the first two days of my period, which is annoying, because it’s already so awful! Once the heavy bleeding dies down, the itching stops.

I stopped using tampons because I know they can lead to yeast infections, and have been using organic cotton pads. But I just bought a LadyCup (menstrual cup) which I am definitely going to try when I get my period. It sounds like it is much healthier…now I just have to get more comfortable putting it in and taking it out!

It’s so annoying because there is nothing we ladies can do about our hormones changing…as strict as I am with the diet, I think my hormones may be giving me issues. I asked my dr. to test my estrogen and progesterone..I don’t know if that will provide any helpful info or not but thought it might be interesting to see if they are out of whack or if one is much higher than the other causing problems.

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